AN: Okay, so I'm not entirely thrilled with this chapter, but it answers a lot of questions y'all had from the last chapter. Pleas remember that if Brennan seems out of character at all…she's still wracked with hormones. There'll be more later…not sure when. I go in to be induced next week, so if I get a chance to update before then, I will. Otherwise my updates are gonna slow down considerably with a new baby in the house.
Angela paced the waiting room at the hospital, waiting on any word about Brennan. Finding her on the floor of her office with all that blood had been one of the scariest of her life. Oh please, she thought, just let Bren be okay. She was trying desperately to stop the tears from falling, but it was a lost battle. No one else from the Jeffersonian was there, and she had no idea what was going on with Booth. Why hadn't they heard anything from him after that arrest? Something was definitely wrong for him to have not returned any calls.
The door leading into the waiting room swung open, and Angela looked up hoping to see the doctor. The person standing there was not who she expected.
"Max, how did you…"
"I keep an eye out for her. Do you know what happened?" He looked haggard and as worried as Angela was. She ran her hand through her hair and sighed deeply.
"No, I don't. I went in to check on her and found her on the ground. Something happened, but I don't know what."
"And you haven't heard from the doctor at all?"
"No. I've been waiting on word, but so far there's been nothing."
"I'm sure she'll be okay. She's a fighter, you know that."
"I know, but there was so much… I'm so worried." Angela held back a worried sob, and was surprised when Max wrapped his arms around her to offer some comfort. She didn't pull away, and instead the dam broke. Tears flowed down her cheeks and sobs wracked her frame. Max simply held her and rubbed small circles on her back, trying to help her calm back down. Soon the sobs became no more than hiccups, and Angela felt slightly embarrassed to have cried all over Max.
"Angela, I'm going to go grab a cup of coffee or something, would you like anything?"
"No, that's okay, but thank you." Max nodded and headed toward the door. As he opened it, he ran into a large, balding man in a suit.
"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't," the man began until he saw who he bumped into. His gaze flittered through the room until it came to rest on Angela. "Miss Montenegro, are you here because of Agent Booth?" Angela looked up, surprised to see Deputy Director Cullen there.
"No, I'm here waiting on news about Brennan. Oh God, please tell me there's nothing wrong with Booth? Was he shot? He's not dead is he? Something went wrong at that arrest earlier."
"Agent Booth finished with the arrest without incident, but as he was leaving the scene and heading to his vehicle, he was struck by a car." Angela put her hand to her mouth, here eyes widening.
"Is he…"
"He's in surgery right now. I notified Dr. Brennan when I received the news, but the line seemed to have died."
"She fainted, or something. I went to check on her and she had collapsed on the floor." The artist visibly paled, as did Max.
"Has Booth's family been notified," Max asked, finally over the initial shock of the announcement.
"Yes, I called them after speaking to Dr. Brennan and Dr. Saroyan. They're on their way right now." Max nodded, but said nothing. He'd only met the Booth's once, and the circumstances had been odd to say the least, but they seemed to be good people.
"I was on my way out. I'll leave you two alone, but if you need anything, please call me."
"Yes, of course, thank you." The pair looked at each other and sat down, despondent over the news. If their concern about Temperance had been high, this was off the charts. They both knew the pair really couldn't live without the other and with both of them hurt; it was too much to think about. As Cullen left the waiting room, a doctor stepped in the room, looking for Angela.
"Ms. Montenegro, you accompanied Dr. Brennan here?"
"Yes, I did." Angela stood, her eyes wide with fear at what his expressionless face could mean.
"I have news about your friend's condition."
XxXxX
Temperance woke slowly to the beeping of monitors. She felt terrible and her abdomen ached. She kept her eyes shut as she tried to remember what it was that caused her to be here in the first place. She'd been on the phone with Cullen… her eyes flew open as she remembered the call. Booth! Something was wrong with Booth. As she moved to sit up, she gasped at the pain in her abdomen. Frowning, she placed her hand there, surprised to find it soft instead of the hard bump it had been before.
A nurse walked into the room to check on her, smiling softly at the anthropologist.
"I see you're finally awake. We were getting a little nervous there."
"What happened," Temperance croaked, her throat dry. The nurse handed her a cup of water and checked over her vitals.
"I'll get the doctor and he'll be able to tell you everything." The nurse gave her another small smile and left the room. Brennan thought over her situation. Something had happened to her…she fainted. That's what it was. She turned her head as the door to her room opened once more.
"Ah, Dr. Brennan, so glad to see you're up. I'll bet you're wondering what happened."
"To put it lightly. Why…did I lose them?" She indicated her softer and much less round tummy.
"We did an examination, and had to perform an emergency c-section. The placenta had separated from the uterine wall due to your fall."
"Are they okay?"
"So far, yes. They were rushed to NICU and are under observation right now."
"When can I see them?"
"Once we feel you've stabilized a bit more, then we'll take you down there. For now though you need to get some rest." Brennan nodded as the doctor left the room. She closed her eyes, weary, until she heard another light knock on the door. Slowly she cracked her eyes open and gave a small smile to her best friend. Angela stepped into the room followed by Max.
"Dad," Brennan said quietly. Max went to her side and gave her a gentle hug.
"I was worried about you baby."
"Have you heard anything about Seeley?"
"Bren, sweetie, he's in surgery right now." Brennan looked from her father to Angela, trying to ascertain anything from their expressions.
"How bad? Cullen said he was in an accident, but…"
"Struck by a car." Max watched as his little girl closed her eyes. He knew that she was going over various scenarios in her head related to damage that could be sustained by impact from a car. "We tried to track down where he is and left a message for his doctor to speak with us when he's out."
"Did you hear anything about your little ones?" Angela asked, hoping the news wasn't bad on that front. Brennan sighed and closed her eyes again. There was too much to take in right now.
"They're in NICU right now. The doctor is having them monitored. That's all I've heard."
"Well that's good right? I mean they're safe, right?" Those words made Brennan start to cry. "Tell me they're okay."
"I'm a failure Angela. I can't even carry a child to term, how am I going to do this? I need Booth." Max hugged his daughter again as Angela moved to the other side of the bed to take a free hand in hers.
"Everything's going to be okay, I know it. You're not a failure, this isn't your fault. You'll do wonderful for those little ones, I know you will."
"Honey, you're strong, and you care about those two little babies. That's what matters. You'll do fine, and you have us to help you." Max made soothing circles on her back to calm her down. He held his little girl, who'd been through too much in the past few hours needed him and he'd be damned if he was going anywhere.
